Hope fell off a horse yesterday.
She isn’t hurt. Not really.
Yesterday afternoon, however, her wails echoed clearly across the canyon.
She was wearing her helmet and was jogging Blondie in the arena. A neighbor on horseback passed on the trail adjacent to the arena at the exact moment Hope exhibited her refined skills of inattention. The other horse must have startled Blondie and because Hope wasn’t paying attention, she simply toppled over on to the dirt.
She rode on a bareback pad which has no stirrups and no saddle horn. Aside from a short strap where the horn should be, there really isn’t anything to grab onto. She has only been riding for 2 years and she hasn’t really learned to fall well yet. As soon as Hope felt unstable she should have grabbed the strap on the pad. She might have regained enough balance to fall on her feet rather than her hip and back.
She screamed and began to cry as her instructor calmly walked over to where she had landed. She spoke to her quietly and after making sure she wasn’t more than just a little bruised and scared, asked her to find the reins. Hope continued to yell as she stood up awkwardly and walked around Blondie to find the reins she had dropped in her distress.
She hopped back up on the horse with a groan and her teacher’s help. Still crying softly, she walked her horse around the arena, slow and quietly. After a few minutes, her instructor explained to her why she fell and how she could have grabbed the strap to help. She probably still would have slid off the bareback pad, but she might not have landed as hard on her rear end.
Hope nodded with a few leftover tears on her cheeks. I think she learned and hopefully next time she falls (because she will fall again), she’ll think quickly and try to land upright.
It isn’t if we will fall, but merely when. Anything that requires skill and discipline carries both reward and risk and a certain amount of failure is inevitable. But, failure makes us learn.
Part of it is learning how to fall well, to regain our balance and land on our feet.
thanks sarah.
i’m getting up from a fall.
If only we were as resilient as our kids!!
Once, when Courtney was riding, she had this horse who kept balking the jump. Courtney was crying hard in fear and frustration but her teacher would NOT let her quit…
oh, there I was, watching, letting the teacher do what was best, but I ached for Courtney. FINALLY the horse jumped and the teacher went into “mommy” mode, explaining why it’s important to not give up… and how to get up and get back on again.
That was a turning point for Courtney – she gained confidence. She could look back to that moment and say, “I did that.”
Hm. Good lessons for all us mommies, huh?
Very wise counsel…Dawn :0D
I love horses! I always wanted one, but my family wasn’t ever into horses. Anyway, I think that’s great that she’s taking lessons and learning so much at a young age.
Thanks for this post – I love how you find something deeper than what’s on the surface of every situation.
I like that. Falling well. It is bound to happen, so we might as well make the best of it.
I love the title Falling Well. It is about taking that fall and turning into something good, a learning experience.
Great post!
What a wise instructor. I hope my kids learn to never end something because of fear, dissappointment, or failure. Keep trying, keep learning. This sure will paint a great word picture for her later.
i recently told a college girl at our church that she needn’t worry about “falling” in life, what she needed to worry about was how long it took her to get back up.
its not the fall that defeats us.
its when we stay down.
so, if i’m ever on the west coast. or you’re ever on the east coast, we BETTER sit down for coffee.
Congratulations, Sarah. You’re CWO’s blog of the month!